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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bark — to shout
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. band — a ring
  15. foot — a measure
  16. chest — a box
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chest — of your body
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. club — for golf

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com